Where does the Transformers film franchise go from here?
Where does the Transformers film franchise go from here?
“More than meets critical and commercial expectations?”
It was recently announced that Danny McBride, co-creator of comedies Eastbound and Down and The Righteous Gemstones, was working on a new G.I. Joe movie. That’s great news for fans eager to see a loving-but-farcical take on the franchise from a guy who grew up with it, but a disappointing turn for anyone hoping to someday see the long-awaited Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover film.
Because as of this moment, that movie isn’t happening. In fact, there are no known Transformers films currently in the works, marking the first pause in active production of the movie franchise in decades.
That said, there are rumblings that Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg are in talks to return to Transformers, under the newly minted Skydance imprint, born of the recent Paramount and Warner Bros. merger. But it’s also reported that Skydance is already 80 billion in debt and is planning layoffs. So, until the dust settles, we’ll take those reports with a grain of salt.
What is certain is that for the last decade or so, the Transformers film series has been struggling in a strange spot between critical success and financial disappointment, almost the inverse of where the films stood while Bay was heading it up. The films made huge money when Bay was directing, at least for a while. By the time that Transformers: The Last Knight rolled out in 2017, returns had dropped to the $600 million range. That's still huge, but not by the standards of these giant robots. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (the franchise’s high-water mark for profitability) made over a billion in 2011. And so, Bay stepped away and made room for smaller, more critically successful movies like Transformers: Bumblebee, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and the CGI animated Transformers One.
All were prequels of a sort, and none of them did amazing. In fact, the most proportionately successful Transformers film of late has been the 40th anniversary theatrical release of Transformers: The Movie, an entirely 2D animated film from 1986 that was planned for a brief, four-day return to theaters, but was extended in many locations due to higher-than-expected turnout.
The sad passing of Peter Cullen, the voice actor for Optimus Prime, probably had something to do with the larger than expected turn out. Cullen also starred in a new, post-credits short film that worked to show what happened to the autoboot leader’s trip to the afterlife. This was Cullen’s last performance before he died, making its subject matter all the more bittersweet. But instead of working as an endcap to the character, it ends with a cliffhanger, with Optimus disappearing into a golden light, walking away from the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons… in order to finally end it?
Or at least, that’s what’s implied. Where exactly Optimus is headed, and why, isn’t explained. And while it’s highly likely that Skydance won’t prioritize answering those questions any time soon, it feels like most fans would rather see this thread play before they swerve headfirst back into the Bay-Formers era. Overall, the next Transformers film needs to feel important to the larger culture, like Barbie and Spider-Man: Brand New Day did. To get there, it could use the support of vocal fans online who will help spread word-of-mouth positivity about it. It’s hard to believe that Bay and Spielberg are the best ones to make that happen today, especially without Cullen to carry the heart of the classic series forward anymore.
Likely their best bet would be to tap into Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead and Invincible. He’s the “showrunner” on the current Energon Universe line of comics, made up of Transformers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K., Micronauts, and Rom the Space Knight. It’s basically a buffet of 80’s nostalgia, but retooled to resonate with modern audiences, infused with the intense drama, spikes of gore, and interconnected backstories that Kirkman is famous for.
Adapting these stories into animation and live action, with Kirkman’s name attached, would really make headlines, and bring in both fans of Kirkman’s modern output as well as folks who grew up with all those properties. If done right, it’s easy to imagine that Transformers and the rest of the Energon Universe could break out of the enthusiast-only audience and get through to the mainstream. If Kirkman can do it for zombies, why can’t he do it for Optimus?